Gallery: 10 cars getting canned in 2014

Goodbye, Gallardo: The Lamborghini Gallardo is going out of production this year.

PHOTO: Graeme Fletcher, Driving

A few of these soon-to-be-collectibles will be missed. Others, not so much

By John LeBlanc

Originally published: December 13, 2013

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As we near the end of the calendar year, the last of the 2013 new cars and trucks are being shown the door. And a few vehicles aren’t returning for 2014. Some will be missed. Some won’t. So here’s our top 10 new vehicles that aren’t coming back for 2014:

The Acura ZDX is one of 10 cars that will cease to be produced starting in the new year.Graeme Fletcher, Driving

As a more expensive but less practical version of the more popular Acura MDX mid-size crossover, will anyone miss the ZDX? As Acura’s take on the BMW X6 crossover/coupe genre, the ZDX never lived up to its maker’s sales expectations. Projected to sell about 5,000 copies annually in Canada, ZDX sales peaked in 2010 (its first year available) at just over 3,500 copies. However, through to the end of October this year, only 39 ZDXs have found a home in Canada.

As part of BMW’s renaming program, its compact 1 Series Coupe and Convertible models are getting axed for 2014. But don’t panic. The German automaker isn’t abandoning the segment. The 1 Series will be replaced by the new 2014 BMW 228i and M235i coupes, expected to debut at next month’s Detroit auto show. Sized between the outgoing 3 Series Coupe and new 4 Series Coupe, the new 2 Series is said to offer more passenger and cargo room than the tidy 1 two-doors.

The very first 1975 BMW 3 Series was a coupe. But after 2013, the 3 Series will only come with four doors. Just like what’s happening with the smaller 1 Series, the 3 Series Coupe and Convertible are being upsized for 2014 and renamed the 4 Series. Other than its even numbered name, though, the 2014 4 Series Coupé family is heavily based on the existing sixth-generation 3 Series four-door sedan.

The 2001 Chevrolet Avalanche and 2002 Cadillac Escalade EXT were a pair of unique offerings in a truck-crazed market. Based on General Motors’ long wheelbase Chevrolet Suburban/GMC Yukon XL chassis, the Avalanche/Escalade EXT sported an open rear bed that could be extended into the cabin via a folding “mid-gate”. With buyers simply opting for four-door pickup trucks, GM decided to kill off the no longer novel Avalanche/Cadillac Escalade EXT for 2014.

Like the Chevrolet Avalanche/Cadillac Escalade EXT, General Motors’ gas-electric hybrid versions of its full-size SUVs will not be making the leap to the 2014 model year. The original 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid was promoted as “the world’s first full-size hybrid SUV”. And while GM’s gas-electric SUVs offered more towing capacity and better fuel economy than their gas-only counterparts, most buyers couldn’t rationalize the hybrid SUV’s $10,000 premium pricing.

The “baby Lambo” isn’t going away due to a lack of popularity. With over 14,000 copies made since it went into production in 2003, the mid-engine, V10 two-seat Gallardo is by far the best-selling model in the famed Italian supercar brand’s history. The replacement for the Gallardo — which is expected to preview the next-generation 2015 Audi R8 — is rumoured to be called the Cabrera, and is expected to debut at next spring’s Geneva auto show.

Following its premiere at the 2001 Detroit auto show as the Vision Grand Sports Tourer, the R-Class was heralded as a new type of vehicle. Similar in concept to Chrysler’s discontinued Pacifica and Subaru’s slow-selling Tribeca, the R-Class was neither minivan fish nor SUV fowl. Since then, R-Class sales have continually been disappointing. And now — finally! — after years of disappointing sales, Mercedes-Benz is finally putting the world’s most expensive minivan to rest.

Mainly due to the lack of interest in coupes in general, the two-door version of Nissan’s popular Altima sedan goes away for 2014. An all-new Altima four door sedan arrived for the 2013 model year, but the two-door coupe version soldiered on the previous generation’s platform that had been around since 2007. While originally offered with both four- and six-cylinder gas engines, the V6 was dropped for 2013, further limiting the Altima Coupe’s appeal.

As its new Chinese owners at Geely Automotive re-jig the Swedish automaker’s product portfolio, the compact C30 two-door hatch won’t see the light of Jan. 1, 2014, after a seven-year run. Like the also-dead S40/V50 sedan and wagon, the C30 was based on a compact platform developed with Ford and Mazda. Currently, Volvo has no replacement confirmed.

As a retractable hardtop convertible version based on the same Volvo/Ford/Mazda as the above mentioned C30, it’s no surprise the Volvo C70 is also being canned for the 2014 model year. Industry speculation sees the new Volvo Concept Coupe — that debuted at last fall’s Frankfurt auto show — replacing both the C30 and C70 in the future.